Home office challenged on number of failed asylum
seekers still in UK…

January 28, 2003

The Government has been challenged to live up to its promise
of making known all the facts on asylum by revealing their estimate
of the number of failed asylum seekers still in the UK.

In response to Home Secretary David Blunkett's comments in the New
Statesmen that he 'wanted to ensure that people know the facts and
get information on which they can make a judgment,' independent think-tank
MigrationwatchUK has called upon him to publish the Home Office's
own assessment of these numbers.

'The whole reason for setting up Migrationwatch was to promote an
informed public debate and so we welcome his comments. Of crucial
importance to this debate is the number of asylum seekers who, despite
a legal process costing £700m a year, remain in the country
- even though they have no right to do so,' said Sir Andrew Green
its chairman.

'Only by having an informed estimate of these numbers can we begin
to assess their needs, and the impact and cost they are having on
services in the UK, such as the NHS.

'Even allowing for the inevitably approximate nature of some of these
estimates, we believe that about 300,000 failed asylum seekers have
stayed on in Britain over just the last nine years. We challenge the
Home Secretary
to accept this estimate or to provide and substantiate an alternative
figure,'
he said.

Based on the latest Home Office statistics (HOSB 09/02) MigrationwatchUK
calculate the following for the years 1993-2001: See note 1 below

Decisions (year of outcome)

439,540

Less total granted
asylum, ELR, or appeal allowed

142,605

296,935

Less removals and voluntary departures

52,115

244,820

Add 30% allowance for dependants

73,460

318,280

'There has been a good deal of evasiveness on this issue by the
Government - in the House of Commons on 20 January Minister of State,
Mrs. Hughes, 'did not have the figure in her head' (Hansard Col
15). On Newsnight, on 24 January, Lord Filkin declined to give an
estimate - so if Mr Blunkett means to have an honest debate its
time these tactics were replaced with the facts on
a matter of great public concern,' he said.

Said Sir Andrew: 'The Home Office claim that no estimate can be
made because an unknown number return to their own countries without
informing the British authorities. This last point is a matter on
which the public can reach their own judgement as Mr. Blunkett suggests.'